Floating
by coffee dazed
Summary: matt/alesha shippy-ness


**Disclaimer: **I own nothing to do with any of the Law and Order franchise, this is just for fun

**FLOATING**

Matt Devlin's bright blue eyes clouded over as he stared off into the middle distance, a line creasing his otherwise smooth brow and Alesha watched his jaw tighten as he clenched his teeth. They were sitting on a park bench, having a coffee on one of the brief breaks they were able to take together during their work.

"It's ok," she said softly as she placed her hand comfortingly on his. "Just take your time."

He took a deep breath to steady himself before he spoke. "It was so long ago but I remember it like it was yesterday." Matt turned to look earnestly into Alesha's deep brown eyes which contrasted so starkly to his. "I had bunked off school that day, me and one of the other boys in my class, I think his name was Reg."

Alesha couldn't help but try to stifle a small smile which Matt saw.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Matt, it's nothing." She looked apologetically at him. "I didn't think anyone was called 'Reg' anymore."

He stared at her for a moment before a grin lit his own face. "Yeah, it's pretty unusual these days. Always reminds me of that old Reginald Perrin show from the 70s."

They shared a laugh before Alesha apologised again and asked him to continue.

"We did the usual stuff, ran round to the park, went into town, tried to sneak into the cinema – usual stuff that kids do when they're messing about." Matt paused and looked down at his hands, one of which, Alesha still held.

She said nothing, just looked sympathetically at her friend and waited patiently for him to speak again.

"It was a great time and neither of us thought there was anything particularly wrong… I had no idea what was going on."

The junior crown prosecutor bit her lower lip anxiously. Over the course of their friendship, they had helped to support each other through some very difficult issues which continued to affect them in varying degrees. She had grown to rely on him more than she realised herself and it hurt her to see him in any distress.

"What happened, Matt?"

Matt cleared his throat of the lump that had built up. It felt nice having Alesha's warm skin next to his and it was getting difficult to hide his feelings for her and pretend that he saw her purely as a friend.

"When I, uh, got home, I saw him. I was so helpless. I couldn't do anything."

"Oh, Matt, I'm sorry." Alesha felt moisture prick her eyes. She knew a bit about his childhood and the abuse he had suffered at home and it broke her heart each time he revealed a bit more about his past.

"I… I told my mum. She tried to understand but she just told me that was just the way it was and part of real life." Matt sighed softly. "He was just lying there, bobbing on top of the water. It was awful."

Alesha frowned in confusion. "Eh? Hold on, what do you mean 'bobbing on top of the water'? Your dad?"

"What? My dad? No, Eammon." Matt shook his head, equally puzzled.

"Who on earth's Eammon?"

"Eammon's my goldfish." He said this as if it was obvious.

"Your goldfish?" Alesha's voice became indignant.

"Yeah, I was gutted. I was ten and he was my very first pet. I loved that goldfish." His voice was full of regret before he looked curiously at her. "Why did you think I was talking about my dad?" She looked away sheepishly.

The young detective ducked his head lower to try and see her face properly. He heard Alesha mutter something unintelligible.

"What did you say?"

"I said because you said that you saw him and felt helpless," she mumbled. Alesha was mortified, afraid that she had totally put her foot in it and offended the man who had slowly but surely won her heart without her realising it.

Matt said nothing as he studied her. He felt such tenderness for her surging within him that she would feel such concern for him and about something that was so personal. A gentle smile appeared on his face and without thinking, reached out to cup her chin with his hand and tilted her face up to his.

"Alesha, it's sweet you thought that. No, it was nothing like that but I'm glad you cared."

"I really do," she replied. "Care, I mean." She stopped before she revealed more of her feelings than she intended to.

"So do I," Matt returned. "I really care about you." He threw caution to the wind. He had kept his feelings to himself for too long and he needed to tell her now. He saw the look of wonder in her eyes and impulsively leaned forward and planted a deep, warm kiss on her lips.

He felt her tense briefly at the initial contact but then she seemed to melt and meld against and into him. His arms pulled her close to him and he felt her hands reach up to run her fingers through his hair. When they finally broke apart, they stared at each other and grinned like lovestruck teenagers.

"Wow," breathed Matt. "I should have told you years ago about Eammon!"


End file.
